Samaria town recognized - 26 years after its establishment

Families in Rehelim will finally be permitted to build permanent homes to replace caravans placed there 26 years ago.

Arutz Sheva Staff, 09/11/17 16:02

he Urban Planning Scheme has been approved Reelim

Flash 90

The Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria issued an amendment to the detailed plan of the town of Rehelim in Samaria, which will take effect within 15 days.

For the first time in the town's 26 year history, the community of Rehelim will be officially recognized by the Civil Administration, the Defense Ministry agency charged with managing Judea and Samaria. The approval for Rehelim and its building plan retroactively authorizes construction which has already been carried out in Rehelim, and allows the building of permanent structures to replace the caravans stationed in the town for more than two decades.

However, the plan does not permit the expansion of the number of housing units in the community, which was established in the year 1990/91 in memory of Rachela Druck, who was murdered in a shooting attack on the way to a demonstration held several months earlier at Malki Yisrael Square in Tel Aviv.

Construction in Rehelim was barred by a court order issued following a petition filed by the left-wing NGO Peace Now in 2009, which forbade all construction until the planning status of the town was settled.

After the filing of the petition, proceedings were initiated to normalize the Rehelim's legal status. In 2013, the OC Central Command signed an order recognizing the town and delineating its boundaries, and now the legality of the construction in the town has been regulated.

Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan said: "After years of strenuous and stubborn struggle, we have achieved a great success in getting aid for the settlement. Five years after the government headed by Netanyahu resolved to recognize Rehelim as a community and more than two years after the Prime Minister's promise following the the protest tent erected after the murder of the Henkin family, we end this process well today."

"I salute the residents and residents of Rehelim, pioneers and pioneers in Samaria, who for many years suffered without kindergartens, without permanent institutions, and without even the most basic amenities - even the most basic amenities enjoyed by [semi-nomadic] Bedouin in the Negev."

Dagan added, "We are proud of the residents and thank all those who worked and with the help of God together in the same spirit of determination we will build Samaria and overcome all the obstacles"

Yigal Dimoni, deputy director general of the Yesha Council, wrote on his Twitter account: "A bouquet of flowers for Peace Now and the Supreme Court, which brought the issue up and allowed the process to proceed faster."